The Hearts of Destiny
by Xlatem Sumato
Summary: This story takes place after the final battle wit Master Xehanort. It tells a story of our heroes and what happens when a sudden outbreak of Heartless start appearing. It'll take more than just 3 Keyblade wielders this time to fix this issue.
1. Chapter 1

The Hearts of Destiny

By: Xlatem Sumato.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters except my own; all rights belong to Square Enix and Disney. This story is purely for the enjoyment of others whom are also fans of Kingdom Hearts.

*Note: This FanFiction takes place after the final battle with Xheanort, our heroes are finally relaxing.

Chapter 1: Two Friends' Departure.

Everything had finally calmed down. The long and slightly stressful adventure in which had been scripted by Master Xehanort was finally over. My name is Xlatem, my world had been swallowed in the darkness and it never came back. I was angry, though I wouldn't allow the rage and pain to control my heart; my master had always taught me that… That is until he was taken along with the world; however I was the only one to safely escape, at least to my knowledge.

Let me explain a little bit of my story before I move on to how I came to be here on Destiny Islands. My world, Netro Amusa is where I came from. It was a quiet place; no one ever threatened it, to say the least everything was very peaceful around there. When I was younger a man came to my town in the world, he was searching for something, and in the end he found just what that was… Me.

However I wasn't the only exception, another, my best friend Rien was also what he was looking for, we both had the ability to wield the Keyblade, a weapon the protects the light, and the two of us had very strong lights inside us. At the time as kids we both were too young and naive to fully understand what this meant, but that's not where it ended. A few years later when I turned 15 I was invited to train with the master of our world, Rien too.

I remember how cool I thought it was when I could summon the Keyblade to my hand at will. My master taught us very carefully, made sure we had three important elements: Respect, Discipline, and a strong heart. I practiced with my childhood friend all the time, daily spars to test which of us was the better wielder. Though I knew Rien was stronger I also knew that I could be strong. Something happened though… Something terrible….

I remember that day vividly, as if I was living it over and over in my mind, just like a movie. I woke up early that morning, my mother and father was both downstairs eating breakfast. I however had other plans. I rushed down the stairs, running over to my mom, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "See ya guys, I'm off to go train with Master Ryushika. I should be back later!" I called out as I ran for the door. My folks were used to me just leaving out of excitement; I spent more time with the master and Rien than I did at home. My parents only smiled and wished me luck. I could feel the energy surging throughout my veins, the anticipation of going to see my best friend and train. That's when I saw it… Master Ryushika had given us knowledge of these creatures… Heartless! He told us these things started appearing but this was the first time I'd ever seen one up close and ready to attack. It came forward, its claws slashing outward at my legs. I jumped back, my hand extended quickly to my right side, my hand enveloped in a white flash, the little specs spun around my hand. A sliver colored Keyblade materialized in my grasp, firmly I gripped it not exactly knowing what to expect from this thing. It already tried to attack, though it seemed pretty weak, a basic type of heartless I suppose?

Well my training didn't go to waste; this was the moment I was looking forward to! I jumped forward from my stationed spot and let the blade coming down hard against the small darkness, watching it evaporate into a small cloud of black. That was it? I thought it was rather too easy, and of course that was the plain fact. A couple more of them emerged from the grounds; about six of them were around me in a small circle. I couldn't help feeling slightly intimidated by all of this, especially since it was me against a group. I knew I could handle this but help would be nice. I had to think quickly because the Heartless were closing in on my person. I stood paralyzed; I don't know why I wasn't attacking, I had the power to but I just… Choked…. In one motion I saw them all leap up, my eyes shut, and I thought that was it until I heard a loud grunt and stepping noise from the concrete.

"C'mon Xla, you gotta keep up!" No mistaking that voice, I heard it pretty much every day. It was Rien, and he was helping me, another lesson our master gave us, "Friends will always help friends, it's a special bond you have with others, hearts tied together."

"Thanks…" I mumbled quietly. I was happy he was here to help, I really was, I was just slightly disappointed in myself for not being braver. Of course I wasn't someone to boast about how good I was, no… I was humble about my ability and strength, but I did have pride just as everyone else does. I raised my Keyblade, my eyes scanning around, seeing as a couple more heartless appeared. Rien and I stood back to back, both of our eyes shifted to the sides to look at each other.

"Well Xla, can I count on you to wipe the floor with these things?"

"Yeah, think you can keep up with me too?" I remarked by quoting his earlier words.

"Funny. Where have I heard those words before?" Rien chuckled once before leaping forward, the same time I did to slash at our foes. Was this what being a Keyblade wielder was like, always fighting? I have to say it was exhilarating, my first real fight, though one had to wonder, why were the Heartless here? Why all of a sudden did they just show up? As I fought I couldn't shake the question, it bugged me….

I thought when this is over I'll ask Ryushika about this. I listened to Rien breathing rather unevenly, it seemed he was at a loss of energy, and I could say the same. It was impossible, they just kept surfacing, a never ending cycle, our efforts weren't enough. "Rien, it's no good. They just keep coming; we have to head for the Master's house he'll know what to do." All I received from him was a quick nod as we ran off, trying are best to navigate through the Heartless.

When we approached the training grounds we watched our master fight off slightly stronger heartless. "Xlatem! Rien! Stay back!" He yelled out at us. It was wrong for us to disobey but we did. While Rien dashed forward I took a different course of action. I hopped up on a thin railing, running swiftly up it, my form soaring up into the air and slamming my weapon onto an enemy. "Master, what's going on here?!" I asked bluntly.

"The Heartless are here… Something's been tampered with… Xlatem, we don't have much time! Rien and I will fight these things off but I need you to do me a favor… I can only entrust you with this, you're the stronger hearted wielder between you and Rien… When you go inside I want you to go to the farthest point inside the training room and seal this world's keyhole. I will give the signal, please hurry!"

My heart was racing along with my mind, I still didn't understand what was going on, and all I could rely on was the tales that were told to me by Master Ryushika. "Master…." That was all I said right before I ran inside. What was going to happen? I couldn't focus on that right now; I had to heed his last wishes if this was it. I was at the end of the room and pointed my Keyblade at the wall, watching a small key shaped hole appear. I closed my eyes and took a small intake of air to try and calm my nerves. I was stopped all of a sudden though.

"Xlatem…." Rien called out to me in a monochrome tone. I looked back and noticed a strange aura covering his person. What had happened to him? A wicked smirk played on his lips; I could sense a strong darkness coming from him. He raised his Keyblade at me; the rage in his eyes only grew. "R-Rien…. What has happened to you?" My friend… No, my best friend had been taken by the dark, but how could this happen… The master was right, my heart was stronger… He always told us you can't have light without darkness, we were just that.

I couldn't help but wonder how the darkness had taken over him, he wasn't bad… Was it confusion? Doubts of weakness maybe..? All I knew was I couldn't let him get to the keyhole. I shut my eyes for a moment, drawing the inner focus I had, calming myself for this battle. My Keyblade directed itself at his form, a serious look on my face, I was determined to prevail. He came running at me, that was the scary part, but this was no time for weakness, I wasn't going to choke this time. I moved out of the way, my body swinging right around behind him, letting my blade strike him once. I watch as he was knocked off balance, though he wasn't going down easy.

Metal slammed against one another, our blades pushed up against each other, our stances not letting us be beaten down. I used whatever strength to push him back but that was my mistake… He disappeared into the shadows coming behind me, sending a powerful strike to my back. I went flying, my back hitting the ground hard, like skipping a rock, the way it bounces on the water. I groaned out in pain, it stung, horribly. My eyes marveled in what was going on outside, a large ball of darkness covered the skies, pieces and pieces being sucked up into an abyss. I- I was too late… Rien walked forward, not even phased from our run-in back there. His palm stuck out, the dark radiance stood out more than anything. The oddest thing was when I looked up into his eyes I could still see him, the real him… In a single swipe I was airborne, being sucked into the darkness above. The last moments of what I remember was Rien watching me be taken away, along with more and more chunks of my world being broken and swallowed up.


	2. Chapter 2

*Note: I'm very happy with how chapter 1 came out, along with some of the replies I got from a few people. Thank you. My plan for this series will be a chapter a week, every Thursday to be more accurate. So without out further ado, chapter 2 of The Hearts of Destiny!

*Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own any characters except my own; all rights belong to Square Enix and Disney. This story is purely for the enjoyment of others whom are also fans of Kingdom Hearts.  


Chapter 2: Where the Pieces Landed

Emerald orbs opened slowly, my mind was a haze at this point, I had no idea what was going on, the only thing I truly felt was... pain in my heart. My face felt warm, as if I was lying on some sort of hot surface, but it didn't feel stable, it felt like… Sand..? I honestly at this point didn't want to move… All that went through my mind was what happened with Rien… How he let me go, threw me into the darkness and… Wait a second!

I turned my head over so that my chin was touching the ground, I looked ahead yet everything still was dizzy. Where was I? One minute I'm hurling towards nothingness and the next I wind up on… A beach…? My body flipped over so that I was on my back, letting my eyes close again; there was no way I was ready to get up yet. I let some time pass, the sounds of the ocean soothing, making everything seem a little less depressive. My breathing kept a slow pace; they almost matched the way the waves came up and down the shores. As I continued to listen I heard a new type of sound, another person maybe? "Sora, where did you head off to?"

The voice sounded like a girl, it was a sweet sounding tone she spoke in. With the passing seconds I heard footsteps in the sand, they began to become more rapid and louder, figuring this she was about to approach me. I felt a hand against my chest; she applied a slight pressure to it as well. I guess she was checking my vital signs, from how I was lying on the beach and how I felt I suppose an vital signs, from how I was lying on the beach and how I felt I suppose anyone would assume the worst. Again in the kind tone, she asked out loud. "Are you okay?"

My eyes slowly opened, squinting slightly since the sunlight beamed almost directly into my eyes. She was beautiful…. This mystery girl had long red hair, about shoulder length. From what I could see her attire consisted of a pink dress with a side pouch attached to her side. But the one thing that stood out the most was the color of her eyes. They were brilliant hue of blue, staring down at my own. "W-Who are you?" She said lowly. I still didn't have too much energy, though I tried to manage out a word or two. "X… Xla…tem…"

She hooked her arm under my head, helping me sit up slightly. "What happened to you Xlatem?" I went to reply but I heard another voice call out. "Oh there you are Kairi… Whoa! Is he okay!?" This time I could tell it was a boy, his voice was a little high but had a mixed in deepness in it. I shifted my eyes to the other side, watching him run over, the sand kicking up each time he took another step. He skidded over to us, bending down to eye level with me. He was a brunette, his hair was spikey, but it bounced as he moved. Just like Kairi his eyes were a oceanic blue.

Obviously these people weren't a threat of any sort, they seemed kindhearted… I could feel it, it was light. "Sora, I think he's hurt. We should take him back to the cabin." While the two conversed I tried to replay the unfortunate events that took place however long ago with my friend. I failed to seal the keyhole… Master Ryushika… My parents… Where were they all? What became of my home? The both of them hooked an arm under my shoulders, pulling my up to my feet soon. I weakly stood up, but I managed to walk some while they held me. We walked up the beach to a large wooden type shelter. Sora pushed the door open with a free hand, both of them leading me inside. For its looks on the outside the inside actually was a lot nicer. It looked like a storage room almost, reason being was because there was some fishing rods neatly lined up lying against the wall, all sorts of supplies around, but at the left side there was a bed. Nothing fancy, it was the twin size kind; it barely took up any space.

Together they sat me down, centering my in the middle of the bed. "Thank you guys…"

"Hey, don't worry about it; we couldn't just leave you out there. I'm Sora by the way."

I don't know what it was about him but he made me smile. Even in my weakest moment I still felt the corners of my mouth turn up. They suggested rest and lots of it. I was told I would be given some food when needed; basically I was welcomed here as long as I wanted. It wasn't too much of a surprise though, the island wasn't small, no… that wasn't it… But there weren't so many people here, to my knowledge there was only Sora and Kairi.

I shut my eyes; almost if not immediately fell into slumber. The dreams weren't entirely pleasant but parts of them were. I wish I could forget it all, but my mind wouldn't allow me to. I could feel myself stir in my sleep; it was almost if the nightmares were real. I couldn't tell where I was… It almost seemed like a town, though there were only buildings around, in the middle it was hard to mistaken it, obviously it was a skyscraper. I peered up at it, someone was standing on top! My body was frozen, what actions was I supposed to take? I couldn't wrap my head around all this, I was dreaming yet…. It was all so real, the calm a quiet winds that brushed against my hair, the steps I took, and my feet pressed firmly against the solid grounds, what was going on!?

I told myself to wake up; this was getting just too creepy for me now. I tried and tried though I just couldn't force myself to awaken. Making matters worse I heard something behind me, the same sounds I heard back on Netro Amusa. I turned around, hopping backwards, in doing so I summoned my Keyblade into my grip. I raised a brow, little globs of black splash about the ground, forming into what could only be Heartless. It was weird, these looked completely different. They were these dark looking balls with a tiny tail sticking out from the middle bottom, and to top it off they had these weird mouths, one that would equate to a jack-o-lantern. 1… 2… 5… 8… Oh boy, by the rate of these things spawning I would be up to my necks in these. The made a biting motion and charged at me. I swung my Keyblade instinctively, the force in which I struck the odd darkness sent it flying but that was about it. Another two came charging at me, the only thing I could to was hold my blade out to block them, making them stutter for a second.

"Xlatem! Xlatem, you gotta wake up! C'mon, wake up!" A voice shouted. I could make it out, it was Sora! Wait, I am sleeping… But everything felt so real. Mid train of thought my theory proved to be true. One of the Heartless began to shake in all sorts of directions, sending me staggering and onto my back. One by one they all drifted towards me, hovering at a decent height. I knew I couldn't handle these many, especially in a position like this. I closed my eyes out of fear, not wanting to face them.

I knew I couldn't be a wimp… I was tired of always being this way. I could handle myself; I could wield the Keyblade… But why did I hold back so much? Master Ryushika believed in me… He told me I was the one between Rien and me… I-I… I have to fight!

Before I knew it, my eyes flickered open; my upper body responded quickly as my arm hooked upward at one of the Heartless, watching it designate mid-air. I was up on my feet, ready to fight now. I backed up, checking my surroundings, this giving me some time to devise an idea to protect myself. These things seemed dangerous if they hit but other than that they were pretty oblivious to anything else, floating there for a time.

I continued on blocking and attacking, it seemed like the only strategy that worked for the moment. My will to go on was far more powerful than the fatigue I felt in my body. I knew I had to keep fighting; I had to fight if I ever wanted to see my world again, to save my friends, to find Rien again!

Everything was working well until I swung my weapon to early, giving an opening to one of my foes, a single charge sent me reeling backwards, not falling but so hard against my psychical form that I had felt the wind knocked out of me. Again, they began to close in on me, watching the corners of their mouths open, knowing they were going to charge at me.

A single second passed and all of them were gathered together in attempt to finish me… That is of course when the impossible happened….

Through my foggy vision, a mixture of pain and tiredness, I watched a streak of light swing in a cutting motion, every one of those dark sphere creatures evaporate. What had happened…? It was a person… It was… Sora!?

"Xlatem, come on, we have to get out of here!"

"But… How are you in my dream?"

"This isn't the time to talk about this, when we get back to the real world I'll explain, but we have to find your nightmare." He said in a rather serious tone. I looked in dead straight in the eyes, giving a firm nod.

We began to run in the opposite direction from where the fight had gone down. It nagged at the back of my mind, Sora was obviously here, but how was this even conceivable? I kept pace with him, running only to where he knew to go. We came to an ally of sorts, in the distance tons of buildings were tipped over and lying on their sides.

"Alright… This should be far enough for now."

"Sora, please tell me what's going on! I know you said when we get back to the real world, but I need to know."

It was dead silence for the moment, something was up. His personality was a tad different, as if something was really wrong. It only gnawed at me more, craving for the truth now.

"Alright… This had happened to me once. Before I became a Keyblade master I had taken what every Keyblade wielder wants to take to make him a master, The Mark of Mastery Exam. While I had been taking the test along with my best friend Riku, an old master named Xehanort sabotaged my test… It's a longer story and I can explain all that later, but this same affliction happened to me. I had fallen into a deep slumber; my heart was in the deepest abyss of darkness… Riku though… He saved me; he was named master then as well. Once you become a master it is said you have the power to awaken someone's heart. Xlatem, when I saw you on the beach I realized something was wrong, your heart has fallen asleep, though it's odd because your heart is much stronger, you didn't fall into the darkness completely, and so I am here."

All this information hit me harder than those enemies about 3 minutes ago. My heart is asleep… According to Sora there is a nightmare that is preventing me from waking up, we need to find it and destroy it in order for me to wake up… But what was this nightmare, what did it look like?

Just then Sora and I turned our attention to a large smashing sound. We watched as a crumbled building had flown across the streets, colliding with another one that still stood. Without second thought Sora grabbed my hand, giving me a look, a signal of some sort. I don't know where it came from but I understood. Both of us jumped up in the air, our Keyblades stabbing the building that was launched at us, tearing it apart through the middle.

Each half collapsed against the ground with a mighty thud, remaining there. Sora and I regained our footing on solid grounds, smiling at each other. I have to admit, it was pretty cool what we had done, where had he learned that? Our attention was turned to a figure not oto far from us.

I squinted a little, trying to make out what it was… My form stumbled back, dumbstruck at the being. I had seen it standing up on that towering skyscraper!

"There! That's what's causing this!" Sora shouted, pointing a singular finger at it. That was the nightmare apparently, but what did it represent? Sora began to run forward at it, me having no other option ran after with him.

We chased the mysterious man until we met a dead end in yet another ally. Sora gave out a shout, telling it to reveal itself. The figure was dressed in black, a cloak of sorts? I know Sora was upset and trying to help, but it almost seemed personal? The cloaked man turned around, its arms rising to pull down a hood. What I saw made my eyes widen and my jaw drop… It was...!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters except my own; all rights belong to Square Enix and Disney. This story is purely for the enjoyment of others whom are also fans of Kingdom Hearts.

*Side Note: If you guys could I'd really appreciate a review or rating, it helps me know where to improve or if you liked the story. Thanks. So here we go again, chapter 3!

Chapter 3: A Nightmare Within

"Xigbar!" Sora stepped forward a bit, yelling out at the man. His appearance was quite odd, he had an eye patch over his right eye and a large gash just underneath his left. From where we stood his eye color was of a golden color. His hair was silver and black, at the end a visible type of ponytail. Again, this seemed personal wit Sora, the change of tone in his voice very noticeable.

"Alright, you got me, haha!" He smirked letting his arms drop to his sides. Sora already had his Keyblade out and he was in position to fight. I held my Keyblade in fighting stance as well, this guy was in my dream, and supposedly he was the cause for my unending sleep. Xigbar only laughed again, his arms extending out forward, index fingers pointing at us. "Heh seems this kid has the angry look down too!

I furrowed my brow, squinting at him with a cold and harsh glare. "What are you doing here? My friends and I defeated you and the rest of the remaining Organization XIII members a long time ago!" Sora continued to question him without any hesitation. Something must have been real funny because this guy couldn't stop giving a sarcastic laugh every time we said or asked something.

"Yes Sora you're right, always coming along and screwing up our plans. Now then to answer your question, oh what was it that old coot was rambling on about? Oh yeah. You can cast away our bodily forms, but that doesn't mean we can't exist in your memories, or in this case your sleep!"

Sora's blue orbs widened, his posture standing up a bit more straight now. He shook his head, this "angry look" the man mentioned before showed on his face again, my eyes catching sight of his hand gripping tighter around his weapon. "That doesn't explain why you're in Xlatem's dream world! Two and two don't add up."

"And that's where you're wrong kiddo. As of now Xlatem's heart is asleep, not to mention pretty vulnerable right now. Just wish this damn light was so strong in his heart, can't see why you all favor it so much." Xigbar shrugged at the end of his little speech, his expression was full of disgust. I could feel the blood rushing to my head, a strong feeling of anger, the other half of me was ashamed at how weak I really could be, so weak that someone like Xigbar could just walk on into my heart. But it made me wonder at that moment… If my heart is asleep and Xigbar could waltz on in, then what about others hearts, Sora did mention something about Organization XIII?

I could tell Sora had enough, he was ready to fight. Xigbar caught the message, his arms protracted to his sides, enveloped in darkness he pulled out from each side a weird looking gun, looking like it had purple like feather knives. He gave them a quick spin, one end meeting another in a sudden motion, seeming like they were two separate pieces that connected into one sniper type rifle.

"Heh, let's how well of a key slinger you've become Roxas!" He bellowed out, dashing from where he stood. Sora and I broke apart, watching him whiz right past us. He vanished quickly, his form reappearing upside-down midair a few feet from me. I hopped backwards, focusing on his game. He fired out what looked like the knife things attached to gun. I raised my Keyblade to block his attack, sending back the little fired shots at him. Again he vanished, reemerging in one place over and over until I finally got close enough, meanwhile Sora had leaped into the air, preforming a combo that knocked him back, making him flinch.

I hurled a strike raid at him, my Keyblade spinning in a rapid attack, knocking Xigbar back from the front and then retrieving my blade when it came back. I smirked a little, it felt nice to put this jerk in his place, though I wasn't as strong as Sora, at least my attacks landed and did some form of damage to him.

Sora was busy knocking him around, hitting him with full force with every slash. Sora jumped back, standing at my side now, seeing Xigbar calm down from his teleporting frenzy. He was breathing heavy, had we winded him? It seemed so apparently. "Huff… So that's how strong… Whew… You are huh? Least I got an idea of what to handle come the future. Ha, well I'm off, you two be good boys."

A single hand from Xigbar pointed behind him, a dark corridor opening up a dark corridor. I had a sudden impulse to run at him, but Sora grabbed my shoulder, holding me back. He gave a salute sign with his fingers pressed to his forehead, fading into the nothingness. I couldn't help but feel a tad disheartened by the scene that unfolded before us. I mean we fought him and yet he got away. My attention was torn away from the thought when something a feet away started appearing.

Dark mists of darkness formed from out of nowhere, a large monster developing once it cleared away. It wore a mask but it only covered half of its face. In a way it reminded me of one of those masks you see in an opera play. Its arms extended outward; in both hands it held an enormous hammer. I could feel the darkness radiating from this creature. It didn't look like a heartless.

"It's a nightmare." Sora said calmly, though it wasn't as much of a calm tone as it was him staring in astonishment to the large being.

"Well then come on Sora, let's take it down!" I said enthusiastically as I ran towards the nightmare. It turned towards me, one of its arms swinging a hammer in the air horizontally. I leaned my body backward, skidding down on my knees, this giving me an opening since it would take the nightmare a few seconds to recover from such a powerful swing. I began to slash about with my Keyblade, landing hit after hit on its legs. Sora followed suit and charged towards it, jumping up on the hammer he oh-so-foolishly swung too quickly, leaping off that, and finally coming down on its head with a mighty smack!

We seemed to stagger it, watching it step backwards trying so hard to regain composure. Sora leaped down after his hit was finished, coming over to my side. Both of us turned our heads to each other, a serious determined look in our eyes. Our free hands that weren't occupied with Keyblades came together like a high-five, interlocking our palms. Sora hoisted me in the air, throwing me forward towards the nightmare. I was headed head first until I used my lower body's leverage to swing it forward, my two feet connecting directly into its chest, sending it toppling over onto the ground.

I propelled my body backwards right after, catching my footing on the ground again shortly. I turned to Sora who was already dashing forward, his Keyblade over his shoulder as he ran. He looked back at me, smiling happily with a goofy grin on his face before hurdling into the air and down into our monstrous foe.

I let my Keyblade vanish, watching the tiny particles twirl once before it disappeared. I walked nonchalantly towards Sora, the nightmare gone. He stood there, pulling his Keyblade out of the ground; my guess was the impact of the attack caused his Keyblade to pierce the ground slightly, almost like hurling a knife into a wall and watching it stick out. I admired his Keyblade, it looked completely different from any of the ones I've seen. It had a bigger hand guard than mine, the long silver metallic pole shape, and at the top the key part.

"Nice one back there Xlatem, you're not bad at this."

"Hey thanks." I said modestly, chuckling a bit. "So what do we do now, we defeated the nightmare, so that means we have an out of my heart right?"

He simply nodded, is right arm lifting his Keyblade about halfway in the air, pointing it at the skyscraper. "Xlatem, summon your Keyblade and point it like so, this will be how you seal the Keyhole, preventing this world in your heart to be entered."

I could feel a gentle breeze pass by us, funny since from the beginning everything was calm, time didn't change, there wasn't any real airflow, nothing. I extended my hand out just like Sora had, letting my Keyblade take form in my grip once more. I looked at it for a moment, my eyes shutting as I shook my head. I jerked my head up, my vision restored when I opened my eyes. I jumped back, giving my Keyblade a nice spin before pointing it in the direction instructed to me. From both of us a beam of white shot towards the sky from both of our blades, intercepting with a large Keyhole that appeared in doing so. I could hear a locking mechanism once the beams faded.

"Let's go Xlatem; I'll get us outta here." He said heroically, both of our forms beginning to rise up to the sky. Everything was getting brighter… I was going to wake… As we both faded into the light I thought I heard something… What was it I heard...?

"**This was merely a test to see if I was right… Hearts that sleep… Hearts proving to be weak… You're memories are weaker…."**

I shifted around, opening my eyes finally. The sudden shock I was back caused me to sit upright in the bed. "Sora!" I shouted out. My eyes wandered over to the boy, sitting on the floor, giving me again that goofy grin. The palm of my hand came to my forehead as Sora, Kairi, and I all laughed together.

"I'm glad you're safe Xlatem that was close back there. The redhead spoke out in that charming voice of hers. She gave a small rub to my shoulder, uncrossing her legs and getting off the bed. Sora yawned slightly, getting up on his feet as well. "Hey Kairi, guess you and Riku can't make fun of me anymore for falling asleep."

"No we still can do that, but now we can include Xlatem as well, hehe." She giggled, continuing to walk out of the wooden type house. I witnessed Sora chase after her, the two seemed like a great pair, if that's what they were. I fell back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling for a moment, my hand coming to lie on my heart. I made a fist, as if to show I was holding onto it. "Rien… I'll find you…."

I heard the door creak open, thinking it was Sora or Kairi coming to see if I was okay. I pulled myself up to see another. He had long white/silver hair, he was tall, and his eyes were of a turquoise color. His crooked a smile to the left; his hands were tucked away into his blue jeans. "So I take it you're Xlatem huh?"

"Yeah, nice to meet you, um…."

"Riku." He said, the smile on his face still remaining.

I swung my legs over the bed, walking over to him. We walked outside the cabin, walking along the shore. I began to tell him what had happened to me, how I got here and how my heart was asleep. For some reason I felt more comfortable around him, we were similar in a way, I just felt it. It was easy to talk to him about Rien even. When I began to tell him this he stopped walking. I looked back, turning around. He had his eyes closed, giving a lazy sigh.

"So you're friend used the power of darkness. Sounds like what happened with me. You see this island Xlatem? Me, Sora, and Kairi dreamed of leaving this place, this world was just so small… It took me a while to realize this world is just a smaller part of something much bigger. I sought out on the wrong path, I gave into darkness, and even at my worst Sora managed to save me, bring me back… He's got a good heart like that. And when Sora fell asleep I helped him, you see… Sometimes a heart can be weak and you might even lose because of it… But, friendship, that will never break, it can be the strongest thing you have at times. You'll find your friend Xlatem… I promise."

I swallowed hard, everything he said sounded right. I'm not one to get emotional, but the way he said it, how he believed in what he said… I could feel the tears pushing against the walls behind my eyes, a very faint line of salty liquid running quickly down my cheek. I felt a hand rest against my shoulder, looking up I stared at him. He nodded towards me, smiling a bit more than he did when I met him. I could tell he would be a great friend just as Sora and Kairi would.

We both walked casually on the beach, looking out to the docks. We went under a bridge that seemed to connect a large rocky platform, on top there was a weird looking tree that had a yellow fruit attached to it. I'd have to ask one of them about it later but for now we stopped in our tracks again, beholding a new sight.

"Riku! Xlatem! Get over here, we got trouble! There's Heartless all over the island!" Cried out a voice, no mistaking it was Kairi's! Both Riku and I sprinted over to see Sora and Kairi both fighting off the same type of Heartless I was fighting back on my world. I clenched a fist, calling my Keyblade to attention. These things played a part in destroying my home…! "Hrrgh!" I yelled, slashing one of them. "Xlatem, wait!" Riku called out to me. I could hear him, but I really couldn't "hear" him because of my anger towards these things.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters except my own; all rights belong to Square Enix and Disney. This story is purely for the enjoyment of others whom are also fans of Kingdom Hearts.

*Notes: Sorry for the delay everyone, I know I should have had this posted sooner but I had a few things to take care of and only could come on to write here and there this week. I have some stuff to do in the upcoming week but I will try my hardest to keep up. This chapter so far is the longest as you will see when you read it. As always I hope you enjoy and please if you could, leave a review if not a rating, it shows your support and love towards the series. Thank you.

Chapter 4: Sailing For Treasure

Well as it stood the four Keyblade wielders, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and I stood our grounds of the Destiny Islands, fighting off the Heartless. It was strange, Destiny Islands seemed so calm, there were no Heartless when I came here… Did I bring them maybe…? It wouldn't make sense though… I watched as the tiny Heartless leaped up, a single sweep of me Keyblade caused them to evaporate into thin air, the little dark specs floating in the wind.

I could see the progress in me now, I wasn't as scared, and I knew that I had to help out my new friends, cleaning up their home. I needed to find my world. Lastly, I needed to find Rien…. After taking out my side of the Heartless I turned around, watching Sora battle his group. It had seemed like he was doing with for ages, the way he avoided them, countering again to wipe the floor with them. I could say the same for Riku and Kairi, they were all pros. Even though I was new at this I had to say I was doing pretty well from where I started. A few more Heartless showed up but I managed to take them on, the rest of the group watching me finish.

"You did pretty good there Xlatem." Riku called out, his brows raised, as if he was a bit surprised, I know I was. Kairi ran over to Sora, giving him a little peck on the cheek, telling him he did a good job. Ah, so my speculation held true, I didn't see her kiss Riku's cheek. I simply laughed, walking over to them all, my Keyblade vanishing. My eyes examined the sky for a moment; it looked like a storm might roll in soon, the clouds partially gray now. "So what's the plan, why are the Heartless showing up all of a sudden?" I questioned them, seeing as they had more knowledge on this topic than I did.

"Well guys, maybe we should take a trip over to Master Yen Sid's, he should know what's going on." Riku responded. I wondered who Master Yen Sid was; I mean my master had maybe mentioned that name as it did sound faintly familiar to me. "Sora, you go with Xlatem, Kairi and I will watch over the island for now, see what's up alright?"

Sora and I just both nodded. He looked at Kairi, smiling sweetly towards her. "I'll be back soon, it's a promise." He whispered to her, though I don't think it was mean to be so secret since I could hear it, and if I could Riku defiantly could too. She took both his hands in hers, giving him a small kiss on the lips before dropping his hands and backing up.

Sora walked over to me, his hand wrapping around to rest on my back. "We'll be back soon guys, don't worry!" He announced with much confidence in his tone. I proceeded to mimic him, my hand lying on his back. Riku and Kairi both laughed, looking down as they did so.

"They're pretty alike huh Kairi?"

"Oh yeah, they could even be brothers." She retorted, still giggling. Sora and I both just looked at them and shouted "Hey!" at the same time, this only feeding fuel to Kairi's laughter an accusation. I turned to Sora and chuckled along with them, him following too. Once we finished having a small laugh we both made our way to the shoreline, I could smell the salt from the ocean, the waves still sounding the same like the day I arrived here. I extended my hand outward, my emerald optics shutting as I heard a metallic like sound when my Keyblade was summoned to my hand. I reopened my green hues, staring out into the sky, at that moment I felt so much hope, motivation, like everything just might be okay.

Sora raised his Keyblade too, copying the same motion. Just like in my dream, a small beam of white light shot forth from our Keyblades, our bodies being enveloped in a warm light. It didn't feel like long at all, both Sora and I looked around, it was simply amazing! We had traveled from the islands to some mysterious land, it felt like it was suspended in the air, not only that but there was a large tower at the far top of this land. I followed Sora, evident he knew this place 10 times better than me. We walked along the brown path, there were shrubs at the far ends of were the edge was met, probably to keep someone from falling off.

Sora pushed the door forward, leading me in. There was a spiral staircase upward, my guess that's where we needed to go. We made our way up the stairs, thank the worlds it wasn't one of those long never-ending stairs. When we came to halt at the top we saw a man sitting in a chair, his eyes were shut and his hands were clasped together, holding his chin up. He also had a long gray beard and was dressed in blue. "Master Yen Sid, we need to talk to you." Sora spoke softly, his hand coming over his chest, bowing to the man. I felt a little out of place, thinking I should bow as well, after al he is a Master according to Sora. I did the same, a moment later both of us stood up straight, waiting for him to speak.

"Yes… I sense a disturbance in the worlds once more Sora… Though it's not the same as the time with Xehanort, no this is far from that. The Heartless have been popping up, but why you ask? Well it's quite simple; a new heart of darkness has been born… However I do have my suspicions that the remanence of Xehanort still lingers, even if defeated darkness never truly rests."

"Alright, I'll let Riku and Kairi know too. Oh and this is Xlatem, he can also wield a Keyblade, he's been helping us fight of the Heartless back home."

"Is this so young man?" Yen Sid queried. I merely nodded, his form leaning back into his chair further. Everything was silent for a moment well me Sora were, Yen Sid seemed to be thinking. It seemed if he had come to some sort of conclusion, though what was it about?

"Xlatem, it seems that you could be of great help to us, another Keyblade wielder of light is never a bad thing, if anything it proves most helpful. Might I request of you to walk along with your friends in a quest to put things back the way they were?"

"Sure. I would love to help out Sora, Riku, Kairi, and everyone else on those worlds. But, Master Yen Sid is there a chance I will find my world along the way… It had gotten sucked up into some sort of darkness storm…"

He gave out a subtle "hmmm" as he thought. He looked down for a moment, thinking perhaps like before. He looked back up to the both of us, giving me a gesture of yes with his head. "It is not impossible for your world to be restored, though if you are to find it be weary, it has endured a time of darkness, it might be unstable and dangerous, but I'm sure along the way you'll become stronger and be prepared."

Sora and I turned to each other, a look of determination on both our faces, this all being said we were ready to head out on adventure. "Thank you." I said to him, a small smile showing on his face, I hadn't seen him smile this whole time, something must have pleased him. We headed back downstairs and out to where we stood when we arrived here. "Okay Xlatem, so we go home, let Riku and Kairi know, then we have to travel to a world, Yen Sid has already arranged it all so we may travel between the realms. I heard him out, my Keyblade already pointing toward the sky. "Let's go!"

After some time we were back on the islands, we explained what Yen Sid told us about a new heart of darkness and how the worlds were in danger of falling into peril. As Sora explained these parts I couldn't help but notice the smile that was always on Kairi's lips fade. Sure, this was a serious topic, nothing to be smiling about, but something else felt wrong. After our conversation the group split up, Sora and Riku both walking over to the docks. Kairi on the other hand walked the other way, heading up to that large circular platform that was lead to by a bridge above. I thought to maybe check on her while Sora and Riku discussed further plans.

She was hanging out by that weird star-shaped tree, the same one I still was curious about. She leaned against it, her red locks blowing partially with the breeze. I strolled over to her right, leaning up against the tree as well. "Hey Kairi, what's going on?"

She turned to me; she hadn't noticed me until now. Something was defiantly on her mind if she was that deep in thought. "Oh hey Xlatem… Nothing much, I'm just thinking about some things."

"Is something wrong?" I inquired to her last statement, wondering what could be wrong still."

"I just hate when Sora leaves like this… I know he has to go; he always did when we were younger. It was about 3-4 years ago when the islands got sucked up just like your home. I lost my heart but it wasn't lost, it was with Sora… He kept it safe, he even turned into a Heartless to save and give me it back. I gave him my lucky charm and told him to bring it back to me, I made him promise… Then Riku got locked behind the Door to Darkness with King Mickey, another one of our great friends. Sora still didn't come home, but he said to me "Kairi you know how you said you're always with me, well I'll always be with you too, I'll come back to you, I promise!"

I could hear the strain in her voice, it sounded like she wanted to cry a little. I could understand where she was coming from, she didn't want to risk losing Sora again, or at least not seeing him for a long time, she really did love him. Those were the only words I could put to it… Love…. When I said that word why did I think of someone myself? I refocused my attention on Kairi, a single hand coming to rest on her back, rubbing it gently. "Hey, I'll watch out for Sora, I promise I'll bring him back, you guys won't be apart again."

My emerald orbs reflected into her own oceanic blue hues, trying to give her a reassuring look. I could see a few tears welling up in her eyes, trying her hardest to hold them back. She suddenly grabbed me into a hug, pressing her face into my right shoulder. I wrapped both my arms around her completely now, keeping her in the embrace of a hug. "T-Thank you… Xlatem…." She mumbled, her face tilting up to stare at me. She smiled faintly, her arms releasing from my form a few minutes later. I extended my index finger, wiping away the few tears that were on her cheeks.

"Well I have to head out with Sora to a world, figure out what's wrong. Like I said, I promise Kairi."

"Hmm, I'll be holding you to that Xlatem, that's my Sora, be sure to bring him back to me." She teased, sticking her tongue out playfully at me. I copied her, laughing along with her. I turned away, walking off, but before I forgot again. "Oh right, I almost forgot! Kairi, what is that star-shaped fruit hanging up there?"

"Hehe, that's a Paopu fruit, they say if you share one with someone you really like, your destinies become intertwined. You'll be with them forever." She answered like she knew it like the back of her hand. I nodded, continuing to walk away. "Forever…" I muttered under my breath as I continued walking away. It's amazing how a fruit could do that for people… Something felt off inside me… I felt as if I was supposed to remember something. It was the same feeling I felt when I thought about the word "love."

Well right now wasn't the time for some inner searching, I had to honor my quest to fix the worlds with Sora and the rest of the gang. I waited for Sora in the middle of the beach, watching the water rise slightly close to my feet and back, washing away some shells with it. I looked to my right, observing as the two males said their goodbyes. I waved to Riku and he did the same. Me and Sora bit exchanged words, affirming we were ready to go. In a spilt second we both called our Keyblades to attention, extending them out to travel to our net destination.

I watched as my vision was obscured with the light, our bodies being enveloped in it as we were transported. I opened my eyes soon, instantly the drifted to Sora, watching him also get his bearings. It was odd; we were in some sort of junk yard maybe? There were many pipes sprawled out all over the place, not only that but beams and other industrial things. I began to walk right, rotating my form to get a better idea of where we were. I looked up to the sky; a weird looking object was falling from the air, a nearby cliff in view. As the strange object fell it looked as if someone was on it! I called Sora over, telling him to look at it. We both watched as it came closer and closer to the ground. I raised a brow, intrigued by what it was. It was almost at ground level, a weird type of sail released as it did so. I grabbed Sora and hurled the both of us out of the way as it came whizzing by past us.

I got up off the ground, my hand extended out to help Sora up as well. Was it a Heartless? No… It looked like a person was on that thing, well only one way to find out. We both followed after it. After a couple of minutes of running, trying our hardest to keep up with this thing we heard sirens, like cops. Right behind the object was two large blue ones, the flashing lights proved true to be the police.

Whatever was going on they didn't seem to be happy. We continued on following the blue police that apprehended whoever was riding that weird flying machine. Up ahead we watched as the police took this person to a house, the sign upon further analysis read "The Benbow Inn." I waved an arm at Sora, signaling him to follow me. We hurried over to the doors, keeping our distance from the cops; they weren't normal cops, they were mechanical with motorized feet.

I hid behind a corner along with Sora who stood behind me as well. I viewed what was going on inside through a small window and listened carefully, not wanting to Mrs. any dialogue. "Mrs. Hawkins!" One of the robots shouted out, a sudden smashing sound coming from the plates that a woman had dropped. Was she the mother of this boy? My eyes shifted over to the cops handling him, he had brown hair the back was tied into a ponytail, the rest hanging over his face, and he also a gold earring in his left ear. He wore a light green shirt under a black jacket, his pants were a dark green, and finally he wore black boots. "Jim!" The woman yelled out, another person in the background said under his breath "Ooh… Wrong turn…."

"OK. Thanks for the lift, guys."

"Not so fast. We apprehended your son operating a solar vehicle in a restricted area, moving violation section fifteen, paragraph, um…"

"Six?" The boy raised a hand, scratching his face.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it." He said quietly as if he didn't really care about the situation at hand. The mother glared at him calling out his name which was Jim. Mrs. Hawkins looked flustered as the police told her that this violates his probation. While she was trying to speak another stood up, the same person that made that comment about Jim turning a corner. He looked like a dog sort of, he wore a maroon colored coat over a white shirt, a green tie that bulged out as well. He walked over to the officers introducing himself as Doctor Delbert Doppler. He then began to try and help her out by interjecting, but the cops only questioned if he was the father which only lead to a bunch of no's from both her and him, and in the middle of them an ew from her. The two robot cops then simultaneously shouted at him "BACK OFF SIR!"

The cops told her that due to his repeated violations the impounded his vehicle and if he continues this he will be going to juvenile hall. Mrs. Hawkins told them it wouldn't happen again as she shot a rather cold and serious glare at Jim. "We see his type all the time ma'am. Wrong choices. Dead-enders. Losers." That last comment made Jim seem to turn back and raise a brow at the cops, I think loser was a little bit much but hey I'm not the police. As she shut the door the entire place filled with customers stared for a mere second, and then returning to their meals.

I looked at Sora who had the same frown on his face as I did my own. We decided to watch a minute longer and then take a look around on the other side to see if there was any strange activity going on. "Mrs. Hawkins! My juice!" A woman with a few arms called out, shaking her empty glass in the air like a maniac. She told her she would be there in a moment, her last set of words to Jim where "I don't want to see you throw away your entire future."

Jim mumbled under his breath "Yeah… What future?" I faced Sora once again, a firm nod for us to get going. He walked around the back, looking all around for anything that looks out of the ordinary. The only thing that was going on was it was thundering now. I saw Jim up on the roof tossing a few rocks, he seemed depressed right now. I could hear what Mrs. Hawkins was saying and I believe so could Jim as his facial expressions changed. She was telling Doctor Doppler about how Jim has never been the same since his father left. She spoke of him being smart, how he built his first solar surfer when he was eight. So that's what that cool machine he was riding on was. At this point I was fascinated, it looked so cool from so far away, hopefully he'd build a new one soon, maybe show me how to use it.

"Sora, you mind if I talk to Jim really quick?"

"Nah, its fine, but one thing I forgot. Just keep the whole different worlds to yourself; we're not supposed to meddle with the knowledge of other worlds. I'll stand guard over here, make sure no Heartless try anything funny." I nodded, understood that I can't tell Jim about other worlds, which was fine.

I jumped up, grabbing the corner of the roof, swinging my lower body for a moment before launching myself up carefully and quietly not to alert anyone else. "Hey." I called out softly to Jim, his eyes seemed to widen, tilting his head towards me. "Who are you?" He asked me.

"I'm Xlatem. You're Jim right?" I inquired, his eyes barely lifting to look at me. He nodded continuing to look out to a metal dock in the distance. I sat down next to him, folding my arms over my chest. "Sorry about what happened back there, must be tough huh?" Again he nodded, though this time he looked at me, giving a half smile. He passed me a few rocks, the two of us tossing them down off the roof, listening to the clinks and clanks of them hitting the ground. Everything was fine until a large ship cam hurdling down crashing onto that same metal deck. Jim and I looked at each other wide-eyed, sliding down the roof and off onto the ground. The thunder was getting much worse now, a few drips and drops of rain starting to hit the ground. The ship began to smoke, both Jim and I looking through a circular window, calling out to see if whoever was in there was okay. We were answered with large hand to glass, making up jump back a bit.

The door then opened, a large salamander like creature came crawling out, coughing hard while he pulled a chest out with him. "He's a-comin'. Can you hear him? The gears and gyros clickin' and whirrin' like the devil himself!"

"Hit your head pretty hard there, didn't ya?" Jim asked, not sure what he was talking about. He shot me a look of confusion; I simply raised my shoulders up, shrugging. "He's after me chest… That fiendish cyborg and his band of cutthroats…" We viewed as he strained to pull the chest and even walk. "But they'll have to pry it from old Billy Bone's dead fingers before I-ARGH!" The pirate fell to the ground, limping barely. I called Sora over, immediately he heard my voice and came running to our sides. "Jim, Sora. Sora, Jim, we don't have time, he's hurt." I said quickly, this wasn't the exact time for introductions. We all lifted him and hooked and arm under both his arms, Sora grabbed the chest since we already had enough strength to hold this guy up. "Mom's gonna love this." Jim mumbled sarcastically as he walked with Billy to the Benbow Inn.

Mrs. Hawkins slumped down in a seat, everyone had cleared out of the Benbow Inn now and only she and Doctor Doppler remained. "Thanks for listening Delbert… It helps." She spoke in a low tone of voice. He reassured her it would get better, but she just told him she kept dreaming that when she opened the door there would be Jim, just the way he was, a smiling happy little boy begging her to keep a new pet. This was probably the wrong time for Jim, Sora, and I to pop in. Doctor Doppler opened the door once he had collected his books; instantaneously Mrs. Hawkins jumped up and yelled out at Jim. "Jim Pleiades Hawkins!" Jim only retorted to tell her he was hurt. We laid Billy down on the ground; all of us were a bit wet from the rain which was only starting. I turned back and looked at the windows, there was sun and flowers outside, like a movie or something, was that a hologram projection? Billy cried out for his chest, Jim pulling the chest from Sora's feet, pushing it close to him. Everyone stood there listening to Billy as he spoke, his fingers entering some kind of code with three little buttons on the front of the chest; the letters were not English, rather than some sort of alien type language. The chest clicked, opening up now. With his claws, Billy pulled out a small sphere like item wrapped in a brown cloth, a yell string wrapped around it to secure it. "He'll be comin' soon… Can't let him find this…"

"Who's coming?" Jim asked right before Billy grabbed the collar of Jim's shirt, bringing his lips close to his ear to whisper. "The cyborg… Beware… The cyborg….." I felt my face twitch in sadness, watching as Billy died right there; slowly his head touched the ground as he gave out one last gasp of air. Jim tucked away the item Billy entrusted him with. He heard rumbling, Jim running up to the window, his hand turning the knob to the hologram, looking to the real world, the rain and thunder outside, but not only that, there was a large group of what seemed to be pirates on their way. "Quick, we gotta go!" Jim shouted, grabbing his mother's hand and running upstairs. Sora was about to call his Keyblade out but I grasped his hand, telling him there wasn't any time. Doctor Doppler went to touch the knob of the door, a shot of some type of gun fired right through the wooden door. "I believe I'm with Jim on this one!" He called out loudly, running with all of us up the stairs.

Doctor Doppler opened the window, calling out to his pet that was named Delilah who was attached to a large carriage. I couldn't tell you what Delilah was, I had never seen a creature like her. He all stood at the ledge of the window, the Doctor talking to Mrs. Hawkins for a moment. "Don't worry Sarah; I'm an expert in the laws of physical science. On the count of three… One…." Before he could get to two Jim yelled out "three!" and pushed us all out the window, every one of us landing into the seats, Doctor Doppler grabbing the reins of the carriage and commanding Delilah to run. Mrs. Hawkins looked back at the Benbow Inn, a large fire spread all over as it burned down slowly. He fingers came to her forehead, looking down. I and Sora felt bad for her, Jim looked saddened too, but he was also busy inspecting the item left by Billy, pulling the string off like a shoelace revealed a shiny golden sphere.

After the ride which wasn't overly too long we departed from the carriage, being lead into the Doctor's home. It was a huge library to say the least, there was books galore everywhere. Mrs. Hawkins was seated on one of those sofa-like chairs, her head pressed against her head in her hands with a small yellow towel around her. "Just spoke with the constabulary. Those blaggard pirates fled without a trace… I'm sorry Sarah, the old Benbow Inn has burned to the ground…."

Like that news would do anything but bring her down more. I leaned up against a bookshelf, my arms folded across my chest, listening to them converse. Sora on the other hand was pacing around slowly in another spot, his hand on the back of his neck, rubbing it. Finally Jim, he was fiddling around with the gold ball, pressing it and turning it. "Ahem. Well certainly a lot of trouble over that odd little sphere. Those markings are unlike any I've ever encountered." While the doctor spoke I overheard little beeps and clicking from the sphere Jim held. What was he doing? "Even with my vast experience and superior intellect it would take me years to unlock its—Hey!" He called out; the golden little orb began to shoot out a bunch of green lines that covered the study entirely in its green hues. It formed a grid all around us, different little places shown on it… It was a— "A map!" Doctor Doppler took the words right from out of my mouth.

He squinted a bit, his finger sticking out to name off the different areas on the map. "Wait, wait, wait! This is us, the planet Montressor!" As he touched the icon that represented Montressor the map shifted forward quickly, bringing up more planets. As more and more of them passed the doctor named them off. "That's the Magellanic Cloud… Whoo! The Coral Galaxy." When he named The Coral Galaxy it hit Jim's chest, splitting apart and then reforming once it passed him. "Oh, that's The Cygnus Cross… And that's the Kerian Abyss…. Wait, wait, what's this..? It-Its!" Jim then interrupted and said in an astonished manner "Treasure Planet."

Doctor Doppler couldn't believe it, but Jim only repeated it again. "Flint's trove, the loot of a thousand worlds, do you know what this means?" The doctor inquired simply taken back by all this. "It means all that treasure is just a boat ride away…" Jim proceeded to say.

"Whoever brings it back would hold an eternal place atop the pantheon of explorers… He'd be able to experience—!" Suddenly the map closed up, returning into the gold ball once more. Jim hurried over to his mom, beginning to explain how this was the answer to all there problems, but she seemed reluctant to even support the notion. He tried to remind her of the stories he read with her when he was younger but she merely diverted it to just that, they were stories. He tried to angle it every which way. "Mom with all that treasure we could rebuild the Benbow a hundred times over!"

"Why this is—It's just—Oh my… Delbert can you explain how ridiculous this is..?"

"It's totally preposterous. Traversing the entire galaxy alone…."He replied, seeming as if he was against the idea. Mrs. Hawkins thought she had won, a smug smile on her face, which is until Delbert said quickly… "That's why I'm going with you…"

Sora and I laughed, Jim's head rising up with hope as the Doc ran frantically around the room, gathering different supplies, piling them into a bag. Mrs. Hawkins rotated quickly towards his form, yelling at him. He was explaining how he'd use his savings to finance a ship, hire a crew, etc. Sarah the whole time couldn't believe he was serious. "All my life I've been waiting for an opportunity like this and here it is screaming 'Go Delbert, go Delbert!"

"Okay, you're both grounded!" Sarah shouted out, Delbert immediately looking down in shame, his twiddling it feet. "Mom… Look. I know I keep messing everything up… And I know that, I let you down…. But this is my chance to make it up to you. I'm going to set things right."

I could feel the hurt in Jim's voice, he really wanted to right his wrongs, but don't we all? Some people can go along hurting others and not care, though it takes a righteous heart filled with real feelings to do right by another, not matter the cost. Doctor Doppler took her aside, telling her that she's tried everything and that there are far worse remedies then a few character-building months in space.

"Delbert, are you saying this because it's the right thing, or because you really want to go?"

"I really, really, really want to go… And it's the right thing." She smirked at his first set of words but then nodded gently at the rest. "Jim. I just don't want to lose you…." She said a tad heartbroken, a worried look on her face.

"Mom, you won't. I'll make you proud." He said calmly and firmly to her, a reassuring type of nature. I stepped forward, Sora also coming along too. "Yeah Mrs. Hawkins, We'll be with him along the way." I then said interjecting. Jim smiled at me, his form backing up to me and Sora, hooking an arm around our necks. "Yeah mom, I got my friends with me. Xlatem and Sora."

She nodded, the Doctor walking over to us, explaining that soon we'd be off to the spaceport! That night we all rested in the guest room of Doctor Doppler's house. Sora, Jim, and I shared a room while Mrs. Hawkins received her own. I felt myself dozing off; my eyes were shut, welcoming the sleep. I was almost there until I heard a few footsteps coming towards my bed. I opened my eyes, revealing to be Jim. "Hey Jim." I yawned in between words. "What's on your mind?"

"Xlatem, where are you and Sora from? I haven't seen you guys around Montressor ever." He said quietly so he would wake Sora who was already asleep, the lazy bum as Kairi would call him. I remembered I couldn't tell him, which made it all the harder to explain. "Um… We're from far away… Sorry Jim, I can't exactly say."

He nodded, smiling and looking off to another part of the room. "So that guy in the black coat was right. There are other worlds out there huh?" I went to say something until I heard 'black coat' wasn't that… Xigbar maybe..? He stopped me mid-sentence as if to know I would challenge him. "He told me while I was getting ready to solar surf… It's okay if you made a promise; it's just pretty cool is all. Night Xla…."

I watched him return to his bed, turning his body to face the wall. Well I guess I didn't have to worry about my mouth and letting the truth out, but still Xigbar might be here… I'd tell Sora tomorrow, but for now it was time to catch some Z's, my mind submitting to rest.

The next day we arrived at the spaceport, the ride there actually really pleasant. Jim, Sora, and I walked down the ramp once we departed off the ship, Doctor Doppler calling out behind us. While we were on the ride here a two-headed saleswoman managed to swindle the Doc and get him to buy a strange and bulky yellow space suit, it seemed to slow him down a lot. "Well Jim, Sora, Xlatem. This should be a great chance for the four of us to bond, you know what they say, familiarity breeds… Well contempt. But in our case—." Jim stopped him there telling him we should find the ship. We asked a couple construction workers around the area and they helped point us to our destination.

"Oh fellows! This is it, the R.L.S Legacy." Doc called out. We marveled at how large this ship was it had to be the largest in the whole spaceport. We walked up the wooden ramp that led up to it watching different crew members lifting crates any moving around. Jim wasn't paying too much attention as he walked straight into one of them. He was weird looking, many small tube like appendages attached to him, letting out noises that sounded like farts? Jim tried his best to apologize to the creature but it simply yelled in its language at him, messing up Jim's hair. Doctor Doppler came to his aid telling Jim he'd take care of this. He squished his cheeks at first, then made those fart noises using his underarms. The creature then laughed, making more of those noises as he left. "I'm fluent in flatulent Jim, took two years of it." He bragged, smiling as he walked away.

Up ahead was a man made of stone, he wore a black hat atop his head as well as a red jacket. He was yelling up at the crew while they lifted more boxes. Doc though he was the captain, simply making the stone man laugh. He told us that the captain was aloft. Our eyes followed his finger that pointed upward. From the top of the ship a skinny cat type woman slid down the ropes doing all sorts of tricks as she descended down to the floor. We all looked at each other; the Doctor's helmet of his suit fell in front of his face. "Mr. Arrow, I've checked this miserable ship from stem to stern, an as usual it's… Spot on. Can you get nothing wrong?" She spoke out in an indomitable tone. He told her she was flattering her and she told him that she didn't mean a word of it sarcastically. It was obvious the two had a close friendship.

She turned to us, her long black boots tapping against the wooden ship floor. She had the same kind of jacket Mr. Arrow had though it was blue. "Ah, Doctor Doppler I presume? Hello can you hear me in there?" She knocked against the glass of his helmet, causing him to become slightly agitated and yell for her to stop that tapping. "I'm Captain Amelia, late of a few run-ins with the Protean armada, nasty business but I won't bore you with my scars." She also introduced Mr. Arrow, using very kind adjectives to describe him such as honest, strong, and other words. Doc interrupted, introducing Jim. He went on to tell her that he is the boy who found the map, but before he could finish the word 'map' she grabbed his face, silencing him. "Doctor! I'd like to have a word with you in my stateroom, as well as the other three young men here."

Sora and I stayed quite most of the time, letting everyone introduce themselves and such. We were on the lookout mainly for Heartless of Organization XIII. The captain led us to the stateroom, shutting the door quickly. "Doctor, to muse and blabber about a treasure map in front of this particular crew demonstrates a level of ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic. And I mean that in a very caring way." I looked at Sora; both our faces expressed a small smile from what she had just said. Doctor Doppler went to defend himself but Captain Amelia went on to say she wanted to see the map. Jim shrugged but the Doc shot him a look to hand it over.

Jim pulled the golden ball from out of his black jacket, tossing it to her. She caught it in one hand, inspecting it, she was fascinated as well. She opened a vault, placing it in there and securely locking it. She told us all when it is not in use that it will be kept under lock and key, further that Jim, Sora, and I will address her in the future as ma'am or captain. It was funny; all three of us rolled our eyes sighing. "Understood?" She repeated, looking over her shoulder. We all gave out a 'yes ma'am' in a fairly un-enthralled tone.

"Mr. Arrow, please escort these three neophytes down to the galley, Hawkins… Who are the other two?" She raised a brow, stopping mid-sentence. "I'm Xlatem and he's Sora." I said, Sora smiling brightly at her. "Right then, Hawkins, Xlatem, and Sora will be working for the cook." We all looked at each other, sighing deeply.

We followed close behind Mr. Arrow, arguing about how unfair the captain was being, but as soon as we said anything wrong Mr. Arrow would yell at us, saying he wouldn't tolerate a crossword about the captain. "Mr. Silver." Arrow called out. A man wearing a white apron was busy cooking, though he called back up to us. He was acting like a gentleman, telling us how he would have tucked his shirt in if he knew he had company. Once the smoke from his cooking cleared it reveal the rest of his body. All three of our eyes widened, seeing his eye was mechanical, his right leg, and finally his right arm too. "The cyborg…" Jim said very quietly. He nudged Sora and I, telling us his thoughts. I saw it too, was this same guy after Billy?

Mr. Arrow introduced the Doctor first since he was the financier of the voyage. Silver's robot eye shot a small red line out at the Doppler, telling him he liked the suit. Next was us. He gave out all our names, the cyborg making way over to us to shake his hand, though his hands were full of tools like knifes. He smirked for a moment, turning it back into a hand, though the three of us just stared at him, an untrusting expression on our faces. Silver shrugged, reassuring us not to be put off by the hunk of hardware as he returned to the counter, a large butcher's knife attached to his robotic arm. He began to chop some food, as he got to the very end he pretended like he cut his other arm off. He was going to be one of those joking types so it seemed.

He finished up after a moment, handing us each a bowl full of what he called his famous Bonzabeast stew. He all looked at the sloppy stew, it brownish color inside the bowl. The Doc dipped his tongue in, taste-testing it first. The three of us looked at it, moving our spoons around. When Jim lifted his spoon up to taste it the spoon began to twitch, moving around in his hand. He let it go, a pink blob transforming from that silver utensil. "Ah Morph! You jiggle-headed blob of mischief, so that's where you was hiding!" The pink blob jumped into each of our bowls, drinking away at stews. He laughed, floating back over to Silver, nuzzling up against his cheek. All of us couldn't help laugh at the sight of the pink blob stealing our food.

Silver told us of how he rescued him on Proteous and ever since they've been together. Mr. Arrow announced that the launch would be going underway and if the Doctor would like to watch. He could have said yes but he gave a big speech about an active galactic nucleus having superluminal jets. It all translated to yes. We three on the other hand were told to stay here in the charge of Silver. We all, including Silver began to whine about this, though it was the captain's orders, something about keeping the three new cabin boys busy. Of course we all took offense. Jim strolled over to a barrel near the corner of where the stairs were both Sora and I wondering what he was going to do. He placed his hand inside and picked up a purple piece of food, it sort of looked like a fruit maybe, it was in the shape of a pear just the color was different. "You know… These purps… They're kind of like the ones back home, on Montressor. You ever been there?"

"I can't say I has Jimbo."

"Come to think of it, just before I left I met this old guy… He um, was looking for a cyborg buddy of his."

"Is that so?" Silver asked while he still was cooking, paying partial attention to the subject. Sora and I both knew what was going on, we were on the up-and-up, knowing this guy was the same cyborg who destroyed the Benbow and was chasing after Billy. We let Jim keep going, seeing if he might get something out of him.

"Yeah… Now what was that old salamander's name…? Oh yeah. Bones. Billy Bones."

"Bones? Bones? Mm-mmm, T'ain't ringin' any bells. Must have been another cyborg, there's a whole slew of cyborgs romain' these ports."

The look on Jim's face showed he could go at this all day. We heard a whistle, Mr. Arrow calling out that we'd be taking of soon. Silver walked over to all of us, using his hands to push us back. "Eh, off with you lads, go and watch the launch. There'll be plenty of work a-waitin' for you afterwards." I raised a brow, my head tilting slightly with skepticism. We all turned around and headed up the way we came down.

The whole crew was bustling all over, Mr. Arrow yelling for everyone to heave up the braces and let loose the solar sails. Everything was moving along well and all, I was just wondering why I hadn't seen any- And that's when I spoke to soon and/or jinxed it. "What the bloody hell?!" Captain Amelia called out, several Heartless spawning along the deck of the ship. Sora and I ran forward, these types of Heartless looked different; they held swords and had a red pirate hat on. My hand whipped upward, my Keyblade materializing instantly into my hand's grip. "Don't worry captain, we got this! Alright, time to walk the plank!" I yelled out toward the Heartless, ready to fight. Sora smiled with determination, laughing a little at my joke.

One of the pirate Heartless hurled his blade at me, my feet quicker than him, enabling me to jump to the side. I swung my blade out at it, knocking it once, my body swinging around to land another hit on it again. Sora kept up with me, him being a lot stronger than me allowed him to take them out quicker, but I still was doing better than when I started. I looked at a loose rope hanging from the pole, my idea was to try one of those environment improvised moves likes me and Sora did that time in my Heart. I whistled out to Sora, getting his attention, using my eyes to signal what I wanted to try. He nodded, hopping back a few feet to me, the long part of my Keyblade between my teeth. He cupped his hands as I jumped up. Once both my feet were in the palms of his hands he used his strength to hurl me up into the air, both my hands gripping the rope tightly. I swung my body a few times to gather some speed, finally it moved and I was running along the walls of the ship. Once I ran out of wall I leaped up, flipping once before crashing down, my weapon returning to my hands to land a powerful impact on a group of them.

Sora smiled, his gloved hands coming together to clap, obviously he was impressed. I smiled modestly for the moment, a few other crew members still getting on with what they were doing, tough crowd. "Mr. Xlatem, what in blazes was that whole escapade about, you and Sora showed quite the skill for fending off against that retched pirate scum." Sora took the stand, being as he would know how to explain it better than me. He told her about the Heartless but he made sure to dance around the other worlds subject, which was a good thing. "Might I see the blade you wield there?" The captain pointed to me. I nodded, handing over my Keyblade, her slender feline arm reaching out and taking ahold of it by the hilt inside the hand guard section. Captain Amelia turned it a few times, inspecting it thoroughly before handing it back. "Well then, you two are still cabin boys but I will entrust you to fight off any more of those things that find their way onto my ship, is that clear." Both of us gave out a yes ma'am, still unenthused.


End file.
